Giving Drink to the Thirsty
Since my daughter was young, whenever she would get upset I would say, “I think you are thirsty”. This may seem silly but my goodness does it work. She readily accepts a glass of water and calms down.
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God”
The responsorial Psalm reminds me of these constant interactions with my daughter. When my daughter gets upset it is often just needing a redirection to something that is more tactile. A simple glass of water makes her aware of her body, her needs, and gives her a chance to reset.
When I am upset and struggling, what helps me to redirect and reset? Coming back into a relationship with the Lord. He is the one who helps to redirect me and is the one in who I am turning to in my time of need. This is not always the case, but I sure do calm down faster when I go to Him rather than anything else.
Psalm 63 reminds us of earth that is lifeless and parched, drying up from a lack of water. The Devil is always working to dry us out, sucking the life out of us. The world offers us so many temptations and distractions from Our Lord, who is just desiring to give us a drink of water. One interaction, one sip from His cup is enough to quench our every need and desire.
I love this painting because it truly shows how much work Christ is doing. He is the one who is outstretching His arm and holding the cup. The girl’s arms are down, just her head bent forward to receive. This cup must be incredibly full if He is not even tipping it back for the water to enter into her mouth. It is Christ Himself who gives us life and who does more than fills us, He makes us thrive.
As the Psalm goes on, there is this movement from thirsting and being in a place of want to continually praising God and clinging to him. This is such a great reminder that when we are in relationship with Christ we have everything we need so we can praise Him and we want to cling to Him. In the times that we are struggling and feel far from Him, He is waiting to give us a drink. Allowing Him to fill us and quench our lifelessness is glory enough for Him. He wants us to receive, He wants us to go back to Him.
So next time you are upset, try to tell yourself “I am just thirsty” and go running to Our Lord in prayer and the sacraments.
Written by Madeline Larson.
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